Preview — Quantum Evolution
by Johnjoe McFadden

Quantum Evolution: Life in the Multiverse

Quantum Evolution presents a revolutionary new scientific theory by asking: is there a force of will behind evolution? In his astonishing first book, Johnjoe McFadden shows that there is.

‘McFadden’s bold hypothesis that quantum physics plays a key role in the origin and evolution of life looks increasingly plausible. The weird behaviour of matter and information at the quaQuantum Evolution presents a revolutionary new scientific theory by asking: is there a force of will behind evolution? In his astonishing first book, Johnjoe McFadden shows that there is.

‘McFadden’s bold hypothesis that quantum physics plays a key role in the origin and evolution of life looks increasingly plausible. The weird behaviour of matter and information at the quantum level could be just what is needed to explain life’s astonishing properties. If these ideas are right, they will transform our understanding of the relationship between physics and biology.’ PAUL DAVIES

In this brilliant debut, Johnjoe McFadden puts forward a theory of quantum evolution. He shows how living organisms have the ability to will themselves into action. Indeed, such an ability may be life’s most fundamental attribute. This has radical implications. Evolution may not be random at all, as recent evolutionary theories have taught: rather, cells may, in certain circumstances, be able to choose to mutate particular genes that provide an advantage in the environment in which the cell finds itself. This ‘will’ – described by McFadden as ‘the life force’ – has startling implications. It is at the root of consciousness and free-will and provides a new understanding of the origins of life and the purpose of death....more

Community Reviews

Granted it took me a ridiculous amount of time to read it. But I promise that wasn't because it was bad. It was just so packed full of information, that I wanted to make sure I actually learned it, so I literally had to stop and process every few pages. This book is written so efficiently, almost every sentence gives you some new piece of information. I feel like by reading it I took an entire course in microbiology, an entire course in quantum mechanics (minus the mThis book is fucking amazing.

Granted it took me a ridiculous amount of time to read it. But I promise that wasn't because it was bad. It was just so packed full of information, that I wanted to make sure I actually learned it, so I literally had to stop and process every few pages. This book is written so efficiently, almost every sentence gives you some new piece of information. I feel like by reading it I took an entire course in microbiology, an entire course in quantum mechanics (minus the math) and maybe a partial course or online course in thermodynamics.

Now I'm not entirely sure I buy his conclusions at the end. But I can't think of anything that disproves them either. I think this theory needs to be given all due consideration by the scientific community.

Regardless of whether you think he's right, reading this book will give you a solid understanding of the theory of evolution thus far, and what kinds of experiments have been ongoing in an attempt to understand evolution better. You'll get a good idea of the things evolution explains beautifully as well as the holes in evolution that we haven't quite figured out yet, and you'll get a detailed explanation as to how each and every one of these things work, from the most basic cells all the way to complex organisms like people. Seriously, even if he had made no conclusion and just left this to be an informative book, I would have LOVED it because of the thoroughness of his explanation.

Readers wanting to learn about science and how scientists think would be well advised to bear in mind that this work reflects the author's extremely idiosyncratic views on biology and that a mainstream consensus isn't presented.

I could only find one professional review; that of Wallace Arthur in the journal Heredity(which can be found here). Arthur concludes that Quantum Evolution "does not work". Otherwise, the book seems to have suffered the indignity of being ignored by the scientific communReaders wanting to learn about science and how scientists think would be well advised to bear in mind that this work reflects the author's extremely idiosyncratic views on biology and that a mainstream consensus isn't presented.

I could only find one professional review; that of Wallace Arthur in the journal Heredity(which can be found here). Arthur concludes that Quantum Evolution "does not work". Otherwise, the book seems to have suffered the indignity of being ignored by the scientific community.

McFadden posits that the scientific theory evolution by natural selection is an insufficient explanation in biology. This is a fallacious argument from incredulity, which he attempts to support by referencing Michael Behe'sDarwin's Black Box. Behe's bizarre views on biology and evolution have been thoroughly discredited elsewhere. Piling more nonsense atop of other nonsense is not the way to do science.

Quantum mechanics is counter-intuitive, deeply mathematical and makes your head hurt. As a scientist, that makes it difficult to explain to a general audience. McFadden isn't a physicist - but Matthew J. Donald, who is - describes McFadden's use of quantum mechanics as "deeply flawed". In short, this appears to be classic "quantum woo". If you want a primer on quantum mechanics, look elsewhere.

A common misconception is that science progresses through massive paradigm shifts - it generally doesn't. McFadden apparently thought that he was creating a "new science of life", yet 15 years after this massively vain overstatement, this remains an obscure work of little to no scientific relevance, in which the author over-reaches himself by making grand claims about areas of science that he doesn't understand....more

I think I understood most of this - I feel like with anything dealing with quantum physics/mechanics I really would need some sort of animated images to really grasp it. I mean, I get the (now seemingly maligned) Schrodinger's Cat illustration of basic elements of the quantum universe, and I see how applying that to all aspects of science (thus making determinism archaic) complicates much of what we know in the pursuit of answering more questions about our world and our universe.... There seem tI think I understood most of this - I feel like with anything dealing with quantum physics/mechanics I really would need some sort of animated images to really grasp it. I mean, I get the (now seemingly maligned) Schrodinger's Cat illustration of basic elements of the quantum universe, and I see how applying that to all aspects of science (thus making determinism archaic) complicates much of what we know in the pursuit of answering more questions about our world and our universe.... There seem to be parallels between deconstructionism (in the linguistic & philosophical spheres) and quantum physics - if I grasp much of what is being discussed the basic aspects of quantum is to reduce existence to its literally elementary particles - the building blocks of how we perceive reality.

I felt that McFadden did touch on the esoteric possibilities of quantum reality - that there is a common ground linking philosophy, language, mathematics, and science (and through extension economics, history, art, etc etc) and that the quantum approach could unify all modes of thought - and open up new avenues of self-awareness. Heavy stuff.

I was drawn to the book as McFadden tried to illustrate how quantum physics could be applied to evolution in order to solve one of the pesky unanswered questions in evolutionary theory - how did organic life begin on earth? To me, he still didn't nail the question as I can't see quantum physics applied to the literal world (sure, there might be multiverses and parallel universes and everything else possibly out there, but we can only perceive of this world - so all that is theory), and since we are organic beings and the organic processes had an origin on earth, applying a purely theoretical solution to a non-theoretical question (well...) left me somewhat dissatisfied with his conclusions...

BUT much of the book was over my head and I felt that I would be returning to the book in the future to try to sort out much of what McFadden was trying to say, which I found intriguing to no end....more

This is basically a response in support of punctuated equilibrium that proposes a quantum level solution. Some interesting stuff for thought here, but I'm not convinced. What is it? Well, you can have a gene that's turned off or turned on. What's offered here is a third option: turned both on and off, kinda like Schrodinger's cat.

We know that something is or it isn't and that variations happen for a reason. We know that if you bake a cake, you're not going to pull a chocolate mousse out of theThis is basically a response in support of punctuated equilibrium that proposes a quantum level solution. Some interesting stuff for thought here, but I'm not convinced. What is it? Well, you can have a gene that's turned off or turned on. What's offered here is a third option: turned both on and off, kinda like Schrodinger's cat.

We know that something is or it isn't and that variations happen for a reason. We know that if you bake a cake, you're not going to pull a chocolate mousse out of the oven. The theory puts forth that you could...

The book also covers experiments in which evolution is attempted to be kick-started bu recreating the supposed primordial soup to see what evolves. Well, this experiments haven't worked. I would suspect that having a planet in general perceived status for a few billion years, and then changing would put some real harsh blockers in trying to recreate in an experiment. What we do know, is that life finds a way. What does that mean? It means you have organisms (unicellular and above.) They exist because they have been able to thrive in the current environment. Then there is a trauma - a scarcity of a needed resources which forces the organism to adapt. In this case, we had had anaerobic bacteria partner with aerobic bacteria to survive - when excretes what the other needs in a symbiotic fashion. There is either an inherent (genetic) potential to do so (live) or not (die) which is what we call natural selection. The greater the genetic variability, the greater the likelihood that some genetic strain will be able to adapt and survive.

We've been able to identify and document a few of these iterations. There is some support that it is cyclical, but in the end it still Darwinian in that you must be able to adapt, thrive, and reproduce....more

Containing both an introduction to quantum physics and the probabilistic universe, and McFadden's theory on how quantum theory intersects with evolution, this book is a page by page gasp-a-thon! Do not read this in bed if your partner is trying to sleep. You will find yourself continuously waking him/her up with a "Did you have any idea that ...!"

The crux of of McFadden's theory (as I remember it) is that our bodies themselves act as "observers" of quantum particles (forcing them continuously ouContaining both an introduction to quantum physics and the probabilistic universe, and McFadden's theory on how quantum theory intersects with evolution, this book is a page by page gasp-a-thon! Do not read this in bed if your partner is trying to sleep. You will find yourself continuously waking him/her up with a "Did you have any idea that ...!"

The crux of of McFadden's theory (as I remember it) is that our bodies themselves act as "observers" of quantum particles (forcing them continuously out of their unknown state), and yet because they are probabilistic and not deterministic, evolutionary changes can be "stored" in those probabilities. This gets around the thorny problem of atomicity in evolution (also known as the "flying dragons" or "what use is an eye halfway through it's evolution" problem.) Factor in the multiverse and a quantum take on Decarte's "I think therefore I am" philosophy and you've got yourself one incredible book.

K, actually, this is one of my favorites because it presents the science behind a great deal of my deepest spiritual beliefs. It is, however, not an easy read if you aren't accustomed to scientific language. Read with a dictionary in hand, and only if you fundamentally believe that quantum physics is at least possible, if not plausible or (as I do) irrefutable reality. Good stuff!

This is a science book-that is FUN to read. It was a great refresher on quantum theory (which I totally didn't get in P-Chem!). The theory presented is definitely just a theory...and many evolutionary biologists seem to think this guy is a quack...but this is typically how paradigm shifts begin! Overall it is written well enough that this sceince-laden book is a quick read! Enjoy!